In an inquiry-oriented teacher education program, prospective teachers are encouraged to examine the origins and consequences of their actions and settings in which they work. Many of the characteristics of the elementary student teaching program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison are similar to this approach. During the students' 15-week field experience program, taken concurrently with a weekly half-day seminar, students conduct field-based inquiries under the direction of supervisors who are graduate students. The primary purpose of the seminar is to broaden students' perspectives and have them engage in reflective analyses of everyday occurrences. Students are encouraged to adopt a critical posture toward both the university and the school components of the field experience and to examine and debate issues and problems from diverse and multiple perspectives. Once in a work setting, the inquiry-oriented approach can help alleviate teacher stress caused by a sense of loss of control over professional responsibilities. This "deskilling" process can be halted by empowering teachers with the ability to reflect upon, confront, and change job-embedded and structural sources of discomfort. At the University of Wisconsin, the inquiry-oriented approach has required that pedagogy and classroom practices exemplify the quality of inquiry that is sought. Consequently, student teachers, cooperating teachers, supervising graduate students, and faculty are playing an increasingly greater role in determining the direction of their program. (FG)